Academics from University College London are shaking off the stuffy, tweed-jacket image of their profession by moonlighting as stand-up comedians.

Dozens have added a comic spin to their specialist subjects, ranging from zoology to archaeology, in a series of monthly gigs.

While rookie comics might find it daunting to get up in front of a potentially unreceptive crowd, the academics are used to lecture halls with bored students. The academics are performing regularly at the Wilmington Arms in Clerkenwell, a venue where the likes of Richard Herring have appeared.

Last week they also entertained an audience of more than 500 at the Bloomsbury Theatre. One, archaeology lecturer Joe Flatman, said he was able to draw on a wealth of amusing — and largely lewd — historical finds to work the audience. "I talked about medieval maritime imagery and I had a sexy mermaid and a Viking gravestone shaped like a big penis. There were also some little carvings with multi-directional penises. They're like prehistoric Action Man figures with penises. They went down very well indeed."

Mathematician Chiara Ambrosio used a fictional story about a womanising Picasso to explain how the artist used the obscure mathematical concept of the fourth dimension in his work.

She said: "He was pretty well known as a womaniser so I built a story around him using the concept to get laid."

Other academics taking part include a lecturer in information studies and a zoologist. Steve Cross, head of public engagement at UCL, came up with the idea as a way for the work of the academics to reach a broader audience. "Comedy is very content based, so you can do something fun and interesting that is totally about the research you do," he said. "No one had done comedy, but we've never had anyone bomb."